Speech #910265578

The minimum wage laws are not the only laws that refuse them protection. There are no housing requirements. thus they are forced to live in hovels that I dare say are no improvement over what is to be found In some of the poorest areas of Mexico or any other underdeveloped country. In Florida alone over 100 of these migrant camps operate without any licenses whatsoever. People throughout the world look with envy on the United States. the land of opportunity. the nation where every young boy can dream of achieving the status of a millionaire or possibly even the presidency itself. What an illusion this is. Let us face reality.. The child of- a migrant family dreams not of fortune or fame but dreams of hopefully escaping the plight of his parents. dreams not in terms of luxuries but in terms of necessities. dreams not of something he is undeserving of. but dreams of the day when he will be able to share In some of the wealth of this great country. some of the wealth he is entitled to as an American. citizen. Is this all it is. a dream? Evidently. the answer appears to be yes. Eighty percent of migrant children never enter a high school classroom. while onehalf never even get to seventh grade. What else can be expected when it Is necessary for every member of the family to slave in the fields in order to eke out a bare existence. coupled with the fact that there are no child labor laws in States such as Florida by which to set a minimum age for young farmers. The U.S. Subcommittee on MigratoryLabor estimates that 100.0001 children under 16 work as hired farmhands across the Na-. tion. Almost onehalf are between the ages of 10 and 1.3. There is escape for the migrant worker from this life. however: that offered by death. -While we can hope to live over 70 years. he can hope to liveor should .I say hecan be forced to endure his existence?-for 49 long. hard "picking" seasons. I would like to conclude with a statement made 10 years ago by a farmer being interviewed by Edward R. Murrow. It Is a startling but unfortunately valid commentary on the migrants life today. because in terms of real money he earns less now than he did then: We used to own our slaves. now we just rent them.